Tarnowski Signs With Arena League’s Columbus Destroyers

Travis Tarnowski is going to get the chance to be the starting quarterback for a professional football team.

On Thursday (March 7) night, the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers announced via Twitter that Tarnowski, the former Ashland University quarterback, had been assigned to the team. The assignment was confirmed on the AFL's official Web site. According to the league's agreement with the AFL Players Union, all players sign one-year contracts with league teams.

Tarnowski boasts many records following his four years (2014-17) as a starter for the Eagles. He is the AU all-time leader in passing yards (11,321), touchdown passes (111), passing attempts (1,385), pass completions (846) and wins by a starting quarterback (38).

In 2017, Tarnowski earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors, and was a first-team American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-American. In 2014, he was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year.

On Thursday night on Twitter, Destroyers head coach Matthew Sauk said Tarnowski "has all the tools to be a good arena QB. And he's from Ohio. Great addition."

The Arena Football League will be a six-team circuit in 2019, featuring the expansion Destroyers and Atlantic City Blackjacks, as well as returning teams in the Albany Empire, Baltimore Brigade, Philadelphia Soul and Washington Valor. Columbus will play its home games at Nationwide Arena, and start its season on April 27 at Albany.

An AFL team named the Columbus Destroyers originally played from 2004-08. One of the original Destroyers' quarterbacks was Matt Nagy, currently the head coach of the National Football League's Chicago Bears – where Nagy coaches former AU All-American tight end and Tarnowski's teammate, Adam Shaheen.

Tarnowski signed on the fourth day of AFL free agency. Each AFL team will take 35 players into training camp, and have a 24-player regular-season roster.

Should Tarnowski make the Destroyers' roster, he will become the latest former Eagle football player on the all-time player rolls of the AFL since the league's inception in 1987, a list which includes AU Hall of Famers Toure Carter, Chris Harkness and Tim Seder.